Roof rack assemblies used in combination with vehicle roof-top cargo boxes are a common means of storing and transporting luggage and other items on during automotive travel. Not only do these apparatus expand the overall volume of cargo that may be transported, but certain designs allow accommodate items which would not otherwise fit inside the vehicle. These units usually rely on attachment to a pair of rails affixed to the top of the vehicle, and they may be used on many different types of vehicles, such as mini-vans, sport utility vehicle, cars, and the like.
Because these units create unwanted drag, wind noise, and sometimes entail other, minor inconveniences, drivers may remove the roof-top box when it is not in use. Many of the previously known systems rely on mechanisms to attach the roof box to the transverse bars of a roof rack. These attachment mechanism are usually located within the interior of the roof box itself. Consequently, the user must be able to access—and see into—the roof box, which can be quite challenging with respect to mini-vans, sports utility vehicles, and other automobiles possessing a high profile or otherwise having a roof line that is substantially above the ground.
FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate various types of attachment systems associated with roof boxes currently in use. For example, FIGS. 1A and 1B depict, respectively speaking, U-bolt attachment member 20 and roof top box 10 with an aperture 12 in the floor board 14 through which U-bolt 10 can be inserted to attach the box 20 to a roof rack rail (not shown). The terminal ends 22, 24 of the attachment member 20 engages a roof bar and includes screw-action handwheels 23, 25 and baseplate 26 to tighten and secure the roof box 10 to the vehicle. In the alternative embodiments, the attachment member 10 could have a simple J-shape or a C-shape, but in all cases, the user must guide the one of the terminal ends 22 through the aperture 14 and around the underside of roof bar. This arrangement requires clear sight lines, dexterity, and freedom of movement for the user that may not be easily achieved. Also, the handwheels 23, 25 (or other mechanisms employed to secure and tighten the assembly) occupy internal volume of the box 10 that could otherwise be used for storage while also disrupting the continuity of the floor board 14. Another example of this style of attachment member is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,757,457, granted on Jun. 24, 2014.
An alternative roof box attachment member 30 is shown in FIG. 1C. Here, rather than relying on a u-shaped bolt to engage the underside of the roof bar, a pincer-type “claw” or movable jaws which engage the bar. In particular, at least one of the arms 32, 34 are moved into an open or closed by way of drive wheel 36, usually through the use of gears (not shown) or other common mechanisms. As above, member 30 must be fitted through an aperture in the roof box, and similar issues arise with respect to taking up internal volume and disrupting the continuity of the floor board in the roof box. Another example of this style of attachment member is shown in European Patent 2536593B1, granted on Aug. 26, 2015.
FIG. 1D generally illustrates a “low profile” attachment system that may incorporate the mechanisms of FIGS. 1A and/or 1C. Here, individually bays 40, 41, 42, and 43 provide recessed volume in which to operate attachment mechanisms in which clamping pressure and/or user force are applied so as to minimize any physical intrusion into the roof box interior and compromising of the continuity of the floor board itself
Finally, an arrangement with a relatively low interior profile that can be nominally operated without access through the interior of the roof box is disclosed in United States Patent Publication 2013/0264366, published on Oct. 10, 2013. A system relying on an externally accessible actuator to engage the bar is found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,807,407, granted on Aug. 19, 2014.
In the foregoing instances, access to the interior of the roof box and/or individual user attention/intervention to each attachment point are required, while relatively little attention appears to be given to simplifying the user experience and/or providing safety mechanisms in the event of a failure of any of the attachment components. Accordingly, a roof rack assembly with central, external attachment mechanisms to address these, and other, issues would be welcome.